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Monday, November 15, 2010

Column - Darris Talks About Games : Thinking of the Past

So, it was Mario's 25th a week ago, and since that time, I've been thinking back on my gaming memories. My first game system, my first game completed, and my first Mario game. Looking back, there's a lot of thing's I have seen and played, and I would share some of those memories with you.

Even though I might not be the oldest gamer (I was born in 1989) I still consider my upbringing with video games to be one that some younger gamers today might not fully grasp. There's always been console wars, title characters, and overused game types (yes, even zombies). But there is a few things that getting into video games early help gamers adapt to, and that's the constant of gaming.

It's easier than ever for anyone to get into gaming, and thank God for that. Back in the early 90's you were hard pressed to find someone who would have been just as into gaming as you. But I think that the ease of gaming today will make gaming slightly weaker moving forward. Back then you had to convert people, show them why gaming was great. Give them a controller and let them interact with something they never knew could be.

I remember my first gaming moments very clearly. I was three years old, and my older sister Heather had an NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I would spend time constantly playing Track and Field, Bart vs. the Space Mutants, and Super Mario Bros.. I wouldn't really know what I was doing, but I did know that I was in control. I had direct involvement with my character, and I could make them jump, run, and attack.

When I turned four I received my first Game Boy. That's when I started gaming. I would play just about anything, and I can clearly remember putting so much time into Ghouls 'n Ghosts that I knew just about everything about it. Then I received my SNES, and another evolution occurred. My gaming interest grew to a point that I would go out and find as much news and information about gaming that I could. My Super Nintendo collection was solid, and filled with amazing titles that I loved to play. The Super Nintendo also allowed for an even more engrossing collection of games that focused on something more than gameplay, and that's the narrative.

The Nintendo 64 would be that last system that I would receive as a gift, as every system after that I would buy myself. From my youth to now, I have always been involved in gaming in some way. Thanks to gaming I am now a fan of anime and manga. Because of video games, I now constantly think of stories and poems, and I push myself to think outside the box. Because of video games, I have a greater appreciation for what can be considered art.